Imprisoned
by hikuni
Summary: When Admiral Zhao captured Aang and locked him up in Pohuai Stronghold, the Blue Spirit never came to save him. Instead, Aang was left to rot in a prison cell for four years, slowly losing hope of ever escaping. It wasn't until a visit from the Fire Nation Prince that freedom became possible. Reader discretion advised for violence, M/M, Aang/Zuko.
1. Chapter 1

**Category:**Avatar: The Last Airbender

**Author:**Hikuni

**Title:**Imprisoned

**Pairing(s):** Aang/Zuko

**Genre:**Angst/Drama/Romance

**Rating:** M for dark themes, violence, and semi-explicit M/M sex.

**A/N:** This story attempts to re-imagine what Aang and Zuko's relationship would have been like if the series after The Blue Spirit had never happened. I did this as realistically as I could, sticking to themes and ideas that were established in the later seasons. I hope you enjoy it, especially if Zukaang is your thing! If it's not, then you probably want to mosy on along to another story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender or its characters. I gain no profit from writing or posting this work of fiction.

* * *

The world burned, and once again, Aang was not there to save it.

The Northern Water Tribe fell first, he was told. The waterbenders did their best to defend their arctic home, but their numbers were so few and the Fire Nation soldiers were so many. It didn't take much for their beautifully sculpted ice architecture to melt into nothing but water and steam.

Ba Sing Se fell last. Aang was told of how its once-impenetrable wall, scorched from flames, crumbled to rubble as the metal tanks of the Fire Nation plowed through it. Without Aang to help stop the Fire Nation armies, the capital of the Earth Kingdom traded its majestic green and gold flags for tapestries of black and scarlet. Now Fire Lord Ozai ruled from Earth King Kuei's throne, and there was no one strong enough to oppose him.

Aang heard nothing of what became of his friends. Whether Sokka and Katara died from fever or by fighting the Fire Nation, or if they were still out there, trying to think of a way to rescue him - he had no idea.

All news of the outside world filtered in to Aang from the soldiers who talked amongst themselves while guarding the door to his cell. Sometimes General Zhao came in to brag about his latest victory in battle, or about his latest promotion. Sometimes Zhao came in simply to antagonize the Avatar, to remind Aang that the there was no escape, that the airbender would grow old and die in this metal cell. Zhao liked to remind Aang that the airbender would be the last of his kind.

At some point, Aang stopped listening.

There were no windows in his metal prison, so it was impossible to tell one day from the next. The only way Aang could keep track of time was by counting the meals he was fed. The meals were brought to him carefully, in light wooden bowls and with dull metal spoons. Nothing heavy or sharp was brought into the Avatar's cell, nothing that could be airbent into a weapon. As if Aang even had any energy left to bend.

Aang was brought two meals a day.

He was one thousand, four hundred and five meals in.

Almost four years. Aang had been locked away for almost _four_ years, and when he thought about how much time had passed, it made him sick.

But the worst part of his captivity, worse than the metal shackles biting at his wrists and ankles, worse than the constant, dull pangs of hunger that ached in his stomach, worse still than the silence that surrounded him at all times, driving his mind into madness: the worst part of it all was that the world thought Aang had disappeared again. Everyone assumed that Aang had run away when they needed him most. Maybe even Sokka and Katara believed he was a coward who turned his back on the world.

"But I didn't," Aang used to weep. He used to repeat it, over and over, as if the world could hear him if he only said it enough. Those three words were the only ones he spoke before he gave into the silence and stopped talking.

* * *

The door to the Avatar's cell opened, flooding the dark metal room with light from the hallway lanterns. _One thousand four hundred and six_, Aang's mind chanted. The door shut with a decisive clang.

The room didn't remain dark for long. With a wooshing sound, Aang's cell was suddenly awash with a bright orange glow; the soldier who entered had lit the lanterns of the two pillars, the only fixtures in the cell. Not every soldier lit them. Some liked to leave Aang in darkness.

"I brought you dinner," the soldier said.

Aang said nothing. He had said nothing for a thousand meals, and he wasn't about to break that habit for this wet-behind-the-ears infantry grunt.

"Here, aren't you hungry?"

The airbender opened his eyes a bit to see a wooden spoon laden with cold rice soup held in front of him. His stomach growled, just a bit, at the smell of it. Aang watched the spoon approach, bridging the distant between guard and prisoner until it pressed gently against the airbender's lips.

What could he do?

Aang had tried refusing food once. For a week, he had refused to eat or drink. The world had better odds of being saved if he died and was reborn, he figured. Waiting for a child to grow up would take less time than waiting for a young man to die of old age, but Zhao understood that, too. And Zhao, who was promoted to General for his capture of the Avatar, wasn't about to lose his prized possession. When Zhao had heard of Aang's hunger strike, he sent a troop of soldiers to deal with the problem.

It took six soldiers to force-feed the Avatar. Three to guard the door, two to pry the Aang's mouth open, one to shove the gruel in, and another to hold Aang's mouth closed until he swallowed either the food or his own bile. Either way, Zhao figured, it kept the Avatar alive.

So now, resigned, Aang took a sip of the soup offered him.

"I see the years haven't been kind to you, either."

Aang ignored the soldier and finished the rest of the cold spoonful. It took only a moment for the soldier to refill the spoon and offer another to him.

"I made a mistake, Avatar."

Aang emptied the second spoonful, and dutifully, the soldier filled it up. But this time, the soldier brought the spoon to his own lips first, to blow on it until a small trail of steam rose up from it. "I'm sorry," the soldier murmured.

Finally, Aang's eyes flew open. That voice. Aang _knew_ that voice. He hadn't heard it in years, but there was no mistaking the low rasp, the quiet consonants. Aang lifted his head, bringing his gaze from the soldier's steel-toed boots up to the soldier's chest plate, higher still to the soldier's helmet.

Slowly, the soldier removed the steel faceplate that marked a member of the Fire Nation infantry, revealing pale skin and a dark scar beneath.

"Prince Zuko," Aang gasped, but the words came out rough and barely audible.

Zuko smiled wryly. "Not a prince anymore," he replied as he held the spoon out to Aang. "Phoenix King Ozai no longer has a son."

Aang swallowed the now-warm rice soup. His heart was pounding in his chest - he probably shouldn't have been so elated to see his former enemy standing in his jail cell, but for whatever reason, he was. He was _happy_. It made him feel dizzy and confused, but _happy_.

Try as he might, Aang couldn't put those feelings into words, so instead he focused on the easiest question"Phoenix King?"

"That's what my father calls himself now," Zuko frowned, scooping up more soup and blowing on it to warm it up. "Phoenix King, ruler of the world."

Aang's head reeled. "And you… what happened to _you_?"

Zuko ignored the airbender for a moment, pretending instead to focus on heating up another spoonful of soup. When it was apparent that Aang would not cooperate unless given an answer, Zuko sighed and gave in. "When my father took the throne of Phoenix King, he disowned me completely and crowned my sister Fire Lord. Now I'm just another traitor. Another enemy of the Phoenix King. Like you."

The airbender's mind worked to process the new information it had been bombarded with, but it couldn't. There were so many things Aang wanted to ask. Did Zuko know what happened to Katara and Sokka? Were his friends still fighting Ozai's armies? Was there any resistance left at all? But the only question that escaped Aang's tongue, was: "Are you here to kill me?"

Zuko froze midway through bringing the spoon to Aang's mouth, as if he'd been suddenly struck by ice that froze him solid. With a deep frown, he spoke slowly, "I'm not here to kill you."

"Then are you here to free me?"

The firebender shook his head. "I can't. Zhao's tripled the guards at this stronghold to make sure you never escape. If we tried, I'd be killed and you'd be captured again before we even made it out of the tower."

Aang let his head drop back down as he squeezed his eyes shut. Zuko's words sank like stones in the pit of his stomach. Spirits, Aang was such a fool for even allowing himself to think, even for a moment, that there was any hope that he could get out of here, that Zuko would help, that Aang could be free again –

"I'm sorry."

Aang opened his eyes. The toes of Zuko's metal boots swam into view.

"I'm sorry," Zuko repeated, letting his arms fall to his side. "I made a mistake. I never should have tried to capture you. I should have been _helping_ you. I should have helped you to defeat my father, and now… now it's too late."

Aang opened his mouth. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he knew the words would come to him in a moment, if he just –

A sharp rapping sounded from the other side of the metal door. "Soldier, are you done in there?"

Zuko's posture changed from defeated to defensive in a fraction of a second. "Yes," Zuko called, rushing to put his faceplate back on. And just like that, Zuko disappeared behind the emotionless metal mask, becoming just another Fire Nation soldier.

"Did the Avatar eat everything? General Zhao wants to make sure he's been eating enough," the voice on the other side of the door asked.

"It's fine," Zuko answered, walking towards the door. "I'm coming out."

A hiss sounded as the heavy bolts of the cell door unlocked.

"I'll be back," Zuko whispered, his voice hidden by the grating sound of metal against metal. "I promise."

Light from the hallway lit up the room, stinging Aang's eyes. Squinting, the airbender watched as the shadow of the former prince stepped into the blinding whiteness, pausing for a moment to bend the fire out from the pillars. Then the silhouette disappeared as darkness flooded the cell again.

Aang let his head drop back down. Zuko was alive. And Zuko wasn't on the Fire Nation's side, which meant that he was on Aang's side, kind of. The airbender felt something swirl inside him, an emotion he had long forgotten. It seemed almost foreign now; it had been so long since Aang had felt anything but pain and fear and defeat. But it was there. Once again, Aang had hope.

* * *

Night passed. At least, Aang thought it was night, since he distinctively remembered Zuko using the word "dinner" to describe the meal the firebender had brought him. So when the giant metal door hissed again, Aang knew it was morning.

The airbender's head shot up at the sound of the door unlocking. The cell door was made up of a foot of solid metal, and it must have weighed hundreds of pounds. It took great effort to shoulder the door's weight to open it, a fact which had never bothered Aang before, but now it drove him crazy. The seconds seemed to stretch on forever as he watched the door intently, watching for the shadow of Zuko - but what if it wasn't Zuko this time? What if it was some other soldier? What if Zuko got transferred to some other military complex overnight, what if Aang never saw him again, what if –

"Breakfast," a familiar voice greeted.

The sound of it almost made Aang want to cry.

Zuko shut the door behind him, pausing a moment to press his ear against the metal to listen for any approaching footsteps. When he was satisfied that there was no one coming, Zuko shot two quick jets of flames to the twin pillars, lighting the room once again in a flickering orange and red glow.

Carefully, Zuko took off his faceplate, and this time, he removed his helmet, too. Greedily, Aang took in all of Zuko's features; it had been so long since he'd seen a face other than Zhao's.

Zuko's hair had grown considerably since Aang last saw the prince. Instead of wearing it shaven with just the crown of his hair tied back in a high ponytail, Zuko had grown the rest of his hair out and now pulled it all back in a small topknot. However, his face was much unchanged - maybe his jaw was a little wider and maybe his eyes were a little sharper - effects, Aang supposed, of growing from a teenager to a young man.

But of everything there was to see, it was the sight of Zuko's scar that elicited the most reaction from Aang. Once, the sight of that scar had been a sign that meant danger was approaching; now the sight of it actually calmed the airbender's frayed nerves.

"You made it back," Aang cried out in relief.

"I don't think they realize who I am," Zuko whispered, holding a finger up to his lips to indicate that Aang should do the same. "I managed to get you a real rice bowl this time. There's some jasmine tea here, too."

Zuko brought the bowl of steaming rice over, and Aang's stomach growled audibly at the smell of it. To his delight, Aang discovered that it wasn't just a rice bowl: upon the bed of rice was a sprinkling of sesame seeds and dried seaweed. Zuko held a chunk of rice out for Aang, and greedily, Aang took it. He had almost forgotten what real food tasted like. It was so delicious tears stung at his eyes as he chewed.

"How did you get here?" Aang gurgled over a mouthful of rice. "To Pohuai Stronghold, I mean."

Zuko shrugged and scooped up another chunk of rice with the pair of chopsticks he was holding. "My father stripped me of my birthright, but not of my citizenship. I'm still a firebender of the Fire Nation, so I joined the army. I was transferred here from Ba Sing Se, but I had no idea this is where they were holding you until I got here."

Aang nodded enthusiastically, paying as much attention to Zuko's words as he was the food he was consuming voraciously. After another huge bite of rice, Zuko offered up a small wooden cup with tea steaming inside of it. Aang's eyelids fluttered as the teacup reached his lips - it had been so long since he'd tasted anything other than rice gruel and stale water. The tea tasted like heaven.

With gusto, the airbender swallowed the entire cup's worth in one go. He was shaking now, excitement racing through his veins, making him giddy and dumb. Aang had company. _Aang_ had _company_. And for the first time in years, this company wasn't taunting him, or hurting him, or forcefully shaving his head so Zhao could gloat always that he had the _Avatar_ prisoner, not just any boy. For the first time in years, Aang's company was kind to him.

There was still so much Aang wanted to know, but there was one question that rose in him louder than all others. "Do you know where my friends are?"

Zuko frowned, his mouth forming into a thin line. "You mean the Water Tribe siblings you were traveling with?"

"Yes!" Aang shouted. "And my sky bison Appa - and the little lemur, Momo - do you know where they are?"

"Keep it down," Zuko hissed, but Aang only made an indignant squawking sound in response. Cringing from the too-loud noise, Zuko hunched over to set the teacup on the metal floor below them. "I'm sorry," the firebender sighed as he stood up slowly, "I don't know where they are."

Aang's eyebrows furrowed together as he studied Zuko's face. He tried to discern whether or not the firebender was telling the truth - but Zuko had turned away from Aang, so all the airbender could see was the former prince's set mouth, his dark scar, and the unreadable slanted eye the scar surrounded.

"You're lying," Aang ventured, trying to sound as confident as he could. Maybe if he bluffed, he could _pull_ the truth out of Zuko. "Where are they? Are they alive?"

The firebender sighed again, and this time Zuko closed his eyes, as if he'd suddenly been stricken with a massive headache. "I don't _know_. The last I heard of your friends, they were engaged in a battle with the Yu Yan Archers."

"You mean those crazy guys with the red face paint?"

With his eyes still closed, Zuko nodded.

"Those were the guys who captured me," Aang said quietly, his voice turning from steady and confident to uncertain and trembling. "If they captured me, then they could have captured them, or worse, they could have…"

Aang couldn't finish his sentence.

"I'm sorry," Zuko murmured, and it sounded like he actually meant it. "I wish I knew what happened to your friends."

Aang didn't reply. Instead, he closed his eyes and swallowed. Desperately, the airbender tried to clear his mind of all thought, trying to shut out the world, trying to shut out the terrible fate that must have befallen his friends.

After a tense moment, Zuko broke the silence. "Here, I brought a surprise for you." The firebender reached into the chest plate of his armor, and when he pulled his arm out, a small fruit tart followed. "I wanted to get you more than one, but the food here at Pohuai is strictly rationed."

The smell of the fruit tart drifted over to Aang. He could smell the baked sugar, the sweet frosting, and the tart smell of cherries. Normally, it would have been enough to make Aang's mouth water, but not this time. The news of his friends had left a sour taste in his mouth, and even the sweet-smelling dessert wasn't enough to take it away.

Zuko scowled indignantly. "Don't you want it? I thought you'd be happy."

"I'm sorry," Aang mumbled, "I'm just not hungry any more."

The firebender's scowl darkened. Zuko's eyes flashed with anger for a moment, offended by the Avatar's refusal - then, as if it the former prince no longer had the fuel to feed that anger, it faded. "Never mind. I'll bring you another one later."

The firebender began to sigh angrily, when abruptly, he jerked his head towards the cell door. Aang's eyes followed Zuko's gaze, expecting to see, well, _something_, but there was nothing there. He was just about to ask Zuko what the matter was, when suddenly, his ears picked out the faintest sound of footsteps echoing on steel floors.

"I have to go," Zuko said urgently, gathering the empty bowl and teacup. "I don't know if I'll be able to make it back tonight, but I'll try to come tomorrow." He shot the Avatar a furtive glance before replacing his metal mask. "Hang in there."

With a hiss, a creak, and a groan, the cell door was open and Zuko was gone. With him went the pillar fires, and once again, Aang was plunged into total darkness.

* * *

Zuko didn't make it back for Aang's evening meal. The old rice gruel seemed exceptionally disgusting compared to the seasoned rice bowl and jasmine tea the airbender had consumed only hours before. Still, Aang forced it down. He didn't want to arouse any suspicions about the new soldier who was bringing the Avatar his meals. Aang couldn't risk getting Zuko into trouble. Zuko was the closest thing to a friend that Aang had left - the _only_ thing that Aang had left.

_Tomorrow_.

The word echoed in Aang's head like a mantra. _Tomorrow_. Zuko said he'd try to make it back tomorrow. He promised.

Aang shut his eyes, and images of the former prince's face floated in his mind. Zuko wasn't so bad, Aang thought to himself drowsily. Maybe they could have been friends if the war hadn't started. Maybe in a different place, a different time. A different lifetime.

The Avatar drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The hissing sound of air was what woke him. Aang's eyes flew open and immediately locked onto the door, searching for the familiar form of the firebending prince, searching, searching, hoping, praying –

"Breakfast," Zuko muttered through the faceplate, his voice distorted and hollow from the metal.

"You're back," Aang exhaled.

Zuko ignored the airbender as he walked over, carrying a whole tray full of food this time. Aang spotted rice rolls with thinly sliced fish and fire flakes, a small side dish of spiced cabbage and radishes, and another small bowl of wheat noodles.

Aang's mouth watered. "That smells amazing," he moaned.

"Good, because you have no idea what I had to do to sneak this out of the kitchen," the former prince snapped. In a huff, Zuko stripped off his faceplate and helmet and was about to toss them to the ground when he thought better of it. The prince set them down soundlessly instead.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Aang chanted, unable to pry his eyes from the steaming tray.

And was Aang imagining it, or was Zuko _smiling?_ The sight of it startled the airbender enough to draw his attention away from the food. It was the first time Aang had ever seen happiness on the prince's face; Aang was used to seeing only scowls and indifference, but the smile actually didn't seem strange on Zuko at all. Instead, it almost suited the prince more than any grimace did.

"I didn't think about how I'd feed you all of this," Zuko mused to himself, his expression darkening as he considered the new problem the tray imposed. "If I have to feed this to you myself, it's going to take all morning."

"You could always take my shackles off," Aang suggested, emphasizing his point by shaking his wrists to jingle the metal chains that bound them.

Zuko frowned. "I don't have the keys for that. Only Zhao does. Well here, maybe I can loosen them a little…"

Aang had to hold back cheers of encouragement as the firebender inspected the pillars the chains connected to. For a short while, Zuko looked up at the dragons carved into the pillars' surface, before he moved on to the chains that bound Aang's arms. Every now and then, Zuko fiddled with the chains, making them dance and clang together. After another moment of consideration, Zuko disappeared out of Aang's line of sight, and no matter how hard Aang craned his neck, he couldn't see what the former prince was up to.

There was an awful lot of banging going on back there. It was as if their roles had been reversed; suddenly Zuko didn't seem to care about how much noise he made, and now Aang really, really did.

"Hey, I appreciate this and all, but maybe you should keep it down," Aang offered.

Instead of replying, Zuko banged something harder.

"Hey…"

"Got it," Zuko's voice called, and immediately, the chain binding Aang's right arm went slack in a rush of jangling chains.

With no taut chain pulling it tight above his head, Aang's arm came crashing down, too. The airbender stared at his arm for a moment, unable to comprehend this new development in his imprisonment - and then he circled his wrist. "Oh," Aang moaned, savoring the feeling of being able to use his right arm again. He could actually _move_ it now - he could swing it in a full arc, bring it down parallel to his side, or lift it straight up with his fingers reaching for the sky.

"Hold on," the firebender grunted, "I'm working on the other one."

In another rush of clanging, Aang's left arm came plummeting down.

"Oh, _man_," Aang groaned, hugging his arms to his chest. "That is _so_ much better."

Zuko reappeared in the Avatar's field of vision. "Sorry I can't do more. That's as long as the chains will go."

"It's okay. It's _more_ than okay. I haven't been able to move my arms in four years!"

Even though Aang had tried to keep his tone light and cheerful, a dark look surfaced on the firebender's face. Aang didn't know what it meant, and frankly, as selfish as it was, he couldn't manage to care. Having mobility in his arms again was the only thing he could think about.

"Well, at least now you can sit down," Zuko sighed.

Oh. Aang hadn't thought about that. The reason Aang stayed upright at all times was that his arms had been keeping him that way by being bound so tightly. But now that the chains were looser, Aang had enough length to actually sit. Delighted at the new discovery, Aang quickly fell to the floor, crossing his legs and purring in contentment.

Zuko said nothing, but he sat down as well, positioning himself directly in front of the airbender. "You can feed yourself, too," he muttered, pushing the tray into Aang's reach.

Aang ignored the bitter tone in Zuko's voice and immediately reached for the chopsticks. He began grabbing a bite of everything on the tray, and didn't come up for air until all of the rice rolls and noodles were gone.

At some point during the Avatar gorging himself, Zuko had adopted an amused expression. "I wasn't sure if you'd eat the fish rolls," the prince admitted, "I heard you were a vegetarian."

Aang looked up, his face stricken. "I am," he said dumbly. In his wild hunger, he had completely forgotten.

"Oh." Zuko shifted uncomfortably. He tried to think of something to say that could console the Avatar - anything to wipe that wounded puppy-dog look off Aang's face. "Well, I'm sure the monks would forgive you this one time."

Still pained, Aang thought about it. Well, Zuko was probably right. Plus, everyone was allowed to make mistakes, as long as you learned from them, right? With his conscious suddenly clear again, Aang went back to the business of eating. It didn't take the airbender much longer to finish everything on the tray. When all the food was gone, he took greedy gulps of the jasmine tea to finish the meal off.

For a long while, the two benders sat in silence. Aang didn't think he could talk even if he wanted to - his head was swimming with warm thoughts of satisfaction. He wished he could have stayed like that forever - satisfied, a full belly, and with a new, if reluctant, friend by his side. Slowly, Aang's thoughts swam from food to Zuko, and Aang cocked his head as considered the firebender.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, more out of curiosity than suspicion. "You'd get in trouble if they found out you were bringing me actual meals."

The almost imperceptible smile that had been sitting on Zuko's lips was quickly replaced by a deep frown. "I know that."

"Then why?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Zuko snapped.

Aang held his hands up - and the fact that he could hold his hands up was not lost on him - in an attempt to show Zuko he meant no harm. "I was just wondering. Earlier, you said you were sorry. You said you made a mistake?"

Zuko's breathing slowed, just a little. "I did. I'm trying to make up for it now."

The airbender tilted his head to the other side. "By feeding me?"

Immediately, Aang realized that had been the wrong thing to say. He didn't mean to trivialize Zuko's efforts, or to make it sound like he wasn't unappreciative, but Aang could tell by the way the firebender's shoulders tensed that Zuko had taken it the wrong way.

"I know feeding you doesn't make up for letting the Fire Nation lock you away," the prince seethed between gritted teeth. "I know that by bringing you fancy foods, I'm not erasing the era of pain that my father started - the era of war that _I_ perpetuated by chasing you - but now I'm trying to do the right thing."

Aang remained silent, his grey eyes fixed on the firebender's golden ones.

"I'm sorry if _feeding_ you isn't enough," Zuko sneered. "Next time I won't bother."

"Zuko, that's not what I meant," Aang started.

Ignoring the airbender, Zuko pushed himself off the floor, turning to leave.

"I'm sorry!" Aang shouted, "Zuko, I'm sorry, okay?"

Desperate, Aang reached a hand out to grab the firebender's armor, a last-ditch effort to stop the firebender from leaving - but with a harsh clang, the Avatar's hand jerked to a stop, foiled by chains pulled tight.

The sharp clang of metal drew Zuko's attention down to Aang's wrist. Zuko's golden eyes fixated on the shackle that bound it, but Aang couldn't read the expression that crossed the firebender's face.

Aang could have hit himself. He was so _dumb!_ He hadn't meant to antagonize Zuko, not at all - but now his stupid mouth had run off again, and Zuko was going to leave. Aang would be left all alone, all alone and worse off, since now he knew the face of compassion. The absence of that kindness would be so much harder to bear.

But Zuko didn't leave. Instead, Zuko wrapped his own fingers around Aang's wrist. Gently, Zuko caressed the bruised skin beneath the metal shackle with a twisted expression Aang couldn't quite place.

"I'll be back," Zuko murmured, giving Aang's hand the smallest of squeezes. "I have to reset your chains now so the guards won't think something's up. Sorry." Zuko pulled his hand away and Aang grasped feebly at the space where it had just been.

"I'll forgive you when you come back," the airbender breathed.

A tiny chuckle like a scoff escaped the firebender as he disappeared out of Aang's vision. With a low groaning of metal, the chains on Aang's right arm went tight again, pulling the airbender back up to standing. But Aang didn't fight it like he had the first time the chains had been tightened on him. This time, the airbender sighed and relaxed his muscles, giving Zuko no resistance at all as the prince pulled the chains taut.

Once Aang was suspended, Zuko gathered his helmet and faceplate. "I'll be back as soon as I can," the firebender said, sliding the helmet back onto his head.

"How soon is that?" Aang asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

Absently, Zuko's fingers caressed the design of the faceplate. "I don't know," he sighed at last. "It's getting hard to come here without arousing suspicion in the other soldiers, but I should be able to bring you dinner tomorrow."

Aang nodded, his eyes fixated on Zuko's face. He wanted to take as much of the sight in before the prince's features were obscured completely by that awful, soulless mask.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Zuko repeated quietly before extinguishing the pillar fires. Then, with a final groan of the heavy cell door, Zuko was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Warning! This chapter includes a non-explicit sex scene between two males. It's an incredibly watered down and tame version of the actual chapter, edited to fit within the rules of FFNet. If you'd like to read the full and sexually explicit version of Chapter 2, you can always go to my livejournal, hikuni, where the story was originally posted.

* * *

In the darkness, Aang had a lot of time to think. Mostly, he thought about Zuko.

Aang had no idea why Zuko had always tried so hard to capture him all those years ago. He had always assumed it had something to do with Zuko's nobility - that maybe Zuko was trying to prove himself as worthy of the Fire Throne. Or maybe Zuko had just been bored with lounging around the Fire Nation palace. Sokka had argued for the latter.

"Who knows why Fire Nation people do the things they do," Sokka had scoffed when the topic of _why_ Zuko was chasing them came up. "It's probably boring being a spoiled rich kid, and Zuko has nothing better to do."

But Aang hadn't thought so then, and he didn't think so now. He didn't have any proof to dispel Sokka's theories - just little fleeting moments that hinted at something deeper going on within the Fire Prince - like the look of desperation that wrecked Zuko when Aang had escaped his ship in the South Pole, or the harsh determination that took over Zuko whenever they had fought. Aang knew there _had_ to have been something bigger behind Zuko's many, many capture attempts.

During their travels, Aang had heard rumors about Zuko being banished from the Fire Nation. Although they had been just rumors, Aang couldn't shake the feeling that those rumors were true, and somehow, Zuko's banishment had something to do with capturing the Avatar.

It was funny then, almost ironic even, that once upon a time, Zuko's face had instilled so much fear in Aang. Now, it was the only source of comfort the airbender had left.

Aang had never given Zuko's face much thought before. He had never had the time to think about the prince's features, since seeing Zuko was usually immediately followed by angry jets of fire blasted his way. But now, in a prison cell in a Fire Nation stronghold, Aang had nothing but time.

_You know_, Aang mused, _the scar isn't so bad, really_. Yes, it looked painful, and yes, it hurt Aang to see it, but once you got past the scar, there was so much more to Zuko's face. Exhaling, Aang pictured Zuko's high, regal cheekbones, as much a mark of the firebender's nobility as his title had been. He pictured Zuko's piercing golden eyes, one normal and guarded, the other marred and tortured - both irritatingly unreadable.

Zuko was almost… beautiful, in a way. Not in the way Katara was beautiful, or the way that the Kyoshi Warriors were beautiful, but Zuko had a certain air to him that Aang really liked. _Sincerity_. Maybe that was it. Zuko seemed tortured and confused, but he always seemed to act with sincerity. When the firebender made a choice - whether it was a right one or a wrong one, a smart choice or an incredibly stupid one - at least he did it sincerely and with his all.

Time passed pleasantly as Aang thought about Zuko. Apparently, trying to picture every minute detail of Zuko's face made the hours fly by. Soon morning came, and with the morning came another meal.

Zuko wasn't the soldier who brought the meal, but Aang tried not to worry about it too much. Zuko had said he'd be back for dinner, after all, not breakfast.

Somehow, time seemed to slow down to a crawl between Aang's first meal and his second one. Dinner couldn't come fast enough. Several times an hour, Aang found himself wondering what time it was. Spirits, what he wouldn't give for a window in his cell, or any indication of how time was passing by outside.

Aang was going to go crazy from waiting. It seemed like days were passing instead of hours. Weeks, even. And then, finally, _finally_, just as Aang thought he would explode from impatience, the cell door began to open. His evening meal had arrived.

Aang swallowed. _Let it be Zuko. Let it be Zuko. _Please_, let it be Zuko._

But it wasn't Zuko that night.

And it wasn't Zuko the next morning.

Nor the next evening, nor the next day, nor the day after that, nor the day after that.

Aang grew listless as he counted the meals that passed by. By his count, a week went by, and still, there was no sign that Zuko would return. Several times, Aang had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from asking the guards about where Zuko was. As if that would work out. "Hey, so, Zuko, you know, the ex-prince of the Fire Nation? Well, he sneaks into my cell to bring me stolen food. Do you happen to know what happened to him? He hasn't stopped by in a while." Yeah, _right_.

And still, Zuko didn't come.

As the days dragged on, Aang began to lose hope that he'd ever see the firebender again. The monks had advised that one should abandon hope - that hope was an illusion, and what mattered most was reality. The monks believed that it was more important to see things for the way they truly were, instead of forming expectations of the way you wanted things to be.

So Aang, ever the obedient student, obeyed his teachings. With a deep breath in and a deep breath out, Aang circulated the feeble air energy throughout his body, and he abandoned his hope. And as days past without Zuko, it wasn't even that difficult to do.

* * *

The hiss of bolts unlocking didn't faze Aang anymore. He had fallen back into numbness, a great distance between him and his worldly senses. It was the exact opposite of what Aang should have been trying to accomplish. The goal of the Air Nomads, after all, hadn't been to _reject_ oneself from the world - the goal had been to achieve such a level of _connection_ with the universe that one's individuality seemed insignificant, inconsequential. Sure, that did take some level of detaching from one's worldly desires and cares, but the goal was one of unity, not separation.

The groaning sound of the cell door grating didn't stir Aang at all.

Footsteps approached, but the airbender didn't bother looking up. The faceplates the guards wore were all identical, giving Aang the impression that it was the same soldier that came to his cell everyday. It wasn't, of course - some soldiers were tall, some were short, some fat, some thin - but it was like that mask took on an identity of its own, becoming some nameless, faceless, person - the anonymous face of the Fire Nation.

Suddenly, Aang found himself staring at that very same mask as the soldier's faceplate fell to the floor with a sharp clang of metal on metal. Aang frowned. _Why would a Fire Nation soldier remove their faceplate_? Aang wondered dully. That was dangerous, and foolish, and it must have violated a dozen army rules. So why would they do it, unless… unless they were…

Aang's voice pierced through the air like a blade. "Zuko!"

"I'm sorry," Zuko burst out, his teeth gritted together to keep any emotion from pouring out. "I tried to come sooner, but Admiral Yu was beginning to get suspicious of me. I had to stay away for a while until he lost interest."

This time, the sound of Zuko's voice really _did_ make Aang cry.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Aang choked, taking a deep, shaky breath to fight back the tears that already stung his eyes. "I thought maybe they'd caught on to you, I was afraid you were locked up, or that you left me, and-"

Zuko kissed him.

_Well_. Aang hadn't been expecting that. But as he felt the firebender's breath, hot against his own, he realized that was what he'd been hoping all along.

Zuko pulled away and his eyes scanned Aang's face, searching frantically for signs of any torture or mistreatment inflicted upon the airbender in his absence - but the Avatar looked about the same. Maybe a little thinner than when Zuko had left him, but it was hard to tell when Zhao kept Aang so undernourished.

"Zuko," Aang murmured, suddenly longing to be kissed again, longing to feel the firebender's lips against his own…

But Zuko pretended not to hear. Without warning, the firebender stood up abruptly and walked away. Panic flooded Aang for a moment as he watched the firebender's back retreat, an irrational fear surging in him that Zuko was about to leave. But then a soft clanging of metal sounded somewhere behind him. _Of course!_ Zuko had left Aang's side only so he could work on the chains that bound the airbender's arms.

A violent swishing of banging of metal sounded, and suddenly, both Aang's arms plunged downwards. The momentum of the fall carried the rest of the airbender's body with it, and with a thud, Aang collapsed onto his knees.

Zuko reappeared, still silent, his face set in an impassive frown as he observed the state Aang was in. As he stared at Aang, he seemed to decide something.

"I have to get you out of here."

Aang frowned. "It's impossible," he replied, rubbing at his left wrist with the fingers of his right hand. "You said so yourself. You said you'd be killed and I'd just end up captured again."

Zuko shut his eyes and a small crease appeared in the center of his forehead as he grimaced. "I know," the firebender groaned. "But there has to be _some_ way."

"I wouldn't be able to help," Aang added quietly. Spirits, he knew it was insane and irresponsible, but right now, the last thing he wanted to think about was escape. All he wanted to focus on was getting Zuko's lips back on his. "I'm too weak to airbend," Aang went on, "I'd be useless against the soldiers."

The firebender considered this for a moment, the creases on his brow increasing in number and severity. "I'll get you your strength back," Zuko said at last. "Until then, I won't leave you to those soldiers and that shit they pass for food."

"Yeah, please don't," the Avatar said meekly.

With a huge sigh, Zuko fell onto his knees in front of Aang, his slumped position mimicking the airbender's. Then, slowly, tentatively, Zuko leaned in, and rested his forehead against the airbender's.

Aang had never seen Zuko so close before. Aang quickly discovered that he had been right: Zuko _was_ beautiful, in his own hardened way. Aang admired the prince's long eyelashes, his thick eyebrow, the place where the rough, dark scar met smooth, perfectly porcelain skin.

Slowly, the tension began to leave Zuko's face, as if maybe Zuko got as much comfort from being next to Aang as Aang did from being next to him. The creases on the firebender's brow smoothed out until they became nothing more than small worry lines. Zuko's jaw relaxed until his mouth went slack, revealing a row of perfectly straight teeth within. With fluttering eyelashes, the firebender inhaled a deep breath and exhaled the stress out of his body.

"I missed you," Aang ventured cautiously, unsure of how the prince would respond.

Zuko's closed eyes twitched, but his face didn't tense up again. "I know," the firebender murmured.

"I couldn't think about anything else," Aang continued, speaking slowly, worried that if he emphasized even one syllable wrong, he'd send Zuko into a rage - or worse yet, he'd send Zuko running away.

Zuko's eyelashes fluttered. "I know," he repeated again.

A smile tugged at the corners of Aang's lips. "I'm really glad you're here."

At last, the firebender opened his eyes. With his gaze fixed on Aang, Zuko breathed, "Me too."

This time, it was Aang who started the kiss.

He pressed his lips to Zuko and found no objections from the firebender. Aang had never really kissed anyone before, and so he didn't really know how to - but with Zuko, he didn't seem to need to know how. It was like their bodies moved instinctually, so at ease with each other, as if they'd done this a thousand times before. Zuko's tongue ran along Aang's, no, Zuko's tongue moved _with_ Aang's. They came together and pulled apart, over and over until Aang was all but helpless to the voice in his head that chanted, _more, more, more._

It was Zuko who broke the kiss, leaving both benders gasping for air.

"I need to go," Zuko said stiffly.

"No!"

"If I stay for too long, Zhao's men might come looking for me."

"No…"

Zuko smiled, and Aang was right again - a smile worked wonders on the firebender's face. It completely softened all of Zuko's hard features, erasing the frown lines and the tenseness. Somehow, it even made Zuko's scar look less prominent and menacing, less like a tortured reminder and more like another feature as natural on Zuko as the arrows on Aang.

The firebender reached out a hand, and delicately, he pressed his palm to Aang's face. Aang's fingers flew up to the warmth of Zuko's hand to hold it there.

"I won't leave you again," Zuko said firmly. "Trust me."

Aang shut his eyes and focused on the heat radiating from Zuko's hand. With difficulty, the airbender swallowed the lump of fear in his throat. "I do."

After Aang was chained up and the pillar fires were extinguished, Zuko made his way to the exit. "I'll be back," the firebender promised quietly before disappearing behind the giant steel door.

* * *

This time, Zuko kept his promise. He visited Aang nearly every meal. Some days the meals Zuko brought were extravagant: traditional Fire Nation dishes fit for an officer. Other days, the meals were simpler: nothing but seasoned rice, or a bowl of cold noodles. But really, Aang couldn't have cared less about how good the food was - the highlight of these meal visits was not the meal itself, but the stoic firebender that brought them.

Slowly, the two began to establish a pattern: Zuko would arrive with a meal in hand. He'd set it down on the floor before the captive Avatar, then quickly work to loosen the chains that held Aang. When that was finished, Zuko would sit and wait as the airbender ate. When Aang was finished wolfing down the food, they'd talk. Well, mostly they kissed. Ferociously, feverishly, as if they were both dying from sickness and the only way to cure their illness was to indulge in each other.

In Aang's opinion, the kissing part never lasted long enough. Zuko always ended it before it drew out for too long, before it could move beyond heavy kissing and shy touching. Zuko's excuse was always the threat of soldiers, the looming danger of being discovered. Then, seemingly more reluctant each time, Zuko would get up to re-tighten the chains that bit at Aang's wrists. Sometimes Aang got a kiss good-bye, but other times Zuko just barely made it out of the cell before other soldiers arrived to check on the Avatar during their rounds.

But one day, after an exceptionally delicious meal of soy noodles and a dessert of fruit tarts, Zuko didn't leave right away. While they were kissing, Zuko's hands travelled across Aang's body, following the path of energy the blue arrows traced. Zuko was getting bolder, braver, and now the firebender trailed his fingers down Aang's shoulders, down the airbender's arms, examining the new muscle that had developed on Aang over the weeks.

The meals Zuko had been bringing were finally beginning to produce results: Aang no longer had the too-thin appearance of a starving prisoner. Instead, he finally began to resemble a regular boy of his age: a young man of lean muscle and smooth edges - no longer a twelve-year old, no longer a starving teenager.

Zuko brought his hands around to the arrow on Aang's spine. Delicately, his fingertips like feathers, Zuko traced the tattoo as far down as the airbender's hips. Aang shivered as a wave of excitement pulsed through him. Through the haze of pleasure, he wondered why Zuko hadn't left yet. Normally, the former prince would have been gathering his helmet by now. Not that Aang was complaining - the longer Zuko stayed with him, the better.

Aang turned his head to press his lips against Zuko's temple, right where the rough edges of the scar met unharmed skin. Zuko made a sound like a sigh, and Aang's heart caught in his chest. "Zuko," he murmured breathlessly. He wrapped his hands in Zuko's hair, the thick chains attached to his wrists clinking together as he did. "Zuko, I want you."

Zuko pressed his head against Aang's shoulder, hiding his unburned face in the fabric of Aang's robes. Over the weeks, Aang learned that turning his uninjured face away was a gesture Zuko always did when the firebender was faced with unpleasant emotions: fear, or anger, or regret, or shame. Aang couldn't see the firebender's expression, but the thick muscle in the firebender's neck hinted that Zuko's jaw was clenched tight. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe Aang should have waited to ask for it, but - no, no, Aang had never been clearer on what he wanted. And what he wanted was Zuko. _All_ of Zuko.

Slowly, the firebender unclenched his jaw and turned towards Aang, just barely, just so Aang could make out the slit of Zuko's scarred eye. "Are you sure?" Zuko asked, his voice low and even. No arguments. No excuses.

"I'm sure," Aang whispered into Zuko's skin.

Zuko sighed and tilted his face towards Aang's a smidge more, and now Aang could see the porcelain skin of the prince's nose.

Showing his face, even just a little, was such a sign of trust from the firebender, that it solidified Aang's conviction. This was right. This was the most natural thing in the world.

* * *

Aang and Zuko pushed and pulled together, sank and soared as one. It was easy, almost air and fire were right next to each other on the spectrum, after all.

With his fingernails digging into the skin of Zuko's back, his mind whiting out from pleasure, Aang gasped again, "I want you,".

The firebender ground his teeth together and pushed into the airbender harder, faster, with less and less control each time he moved his hips.

"You have me," Zuko moaned, "_You have me_."

And then it was like those words were magic, because Aang was coming, and nothing in the world could have been better. Aang wrapped his arms around Zuko's neck either to pull himself up or to pull the firebender down, and then the airbender's jaw went slack and his eyes squeezed shut and his body tensed, every muscle in the airbender's body tensed, and then Zuko was coming, too.

They came together, as loud as they dared, harsh pants and heaving chests and shaking bodies until Aang was dry and Zuko had to stop moving to keep from overloading on sensation.

Aang was afraid that Zuko would pull out immediately, that he'd be left empty and alone before he was ready. But Zuko stayed there, his strong arms still wrapped around the airbender, clutching Aang to his chest as if that were enough to protect the airbender from anything that would harm him.

"I need you," Aang said at last, and Zuko slipped out, too soft to stay in any longer.

Zuko pressed his face against Aang's. "I know," the prince murmured. "I need you too."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** will be located at the bottom of the fic this time, since it's the final part!

* * *

Aang wished Zuko could have stayed forever, but they had already taken a huge risk by making love under the other guards' noses. Aang could tell Zuko was trying not to hurry to leave, mostly for Aang's sake. The firebender did an admirable job of dressing Aang slowly, carefully re-robing the Avatar so no one would be the wiser of what had just transpired in the jail cell. But Aang could see the impatience in Zuko's movements - the firebender's shaking fingers, the angry struggle to get back into his armor. By the time it came to tighten Aang's chains, Zuko was both running out of patience and giving into panic.

"It's going to be okay," Aang said reassuringly, but either Zuko didn't hear him or he pretended not to, because the firebender didn't stop his frantic battle to get dressed.

Zuko had his helmet on and was almost to the door when Aang resigned himself to not getting a good-bye kiss. There just wasn't enough time. Besides, it was more important that Zuko escape, undetected, than Aang get something as silly as a good-bye kiss, right?

Aang sighed.

But just as the airbender let his head drop in resignation, a flurry of footsteps sounded. In a rush, Zuko was back and kissing the airbender's mouth, heavy and out of breath and somehow, still so sweet.

The kiss was rushed, too, but Aang didn't mind. He knew it was because Zuko was afraid of the soldiers, not because Zuko was afraid of what he had done with Aang. What they had done what they had created Aang sighed, this time from pleasure. It felt so _right_. Even in a jail cell in a Fire Nation fortress on the shore of the Earth Kingdom, it felt _right_.

It seemed like Zuko had only just left before the cell door gave the telltale hissing sound of someone's arrival. Aang frowned. Maybe more time had passed than he'd realized. Maybe he'd just been so high on the feeling of Zuko's body against his own, he hadn't realized _how_ much time had passed. Aang's frown deepened. No, something was wrong.

A figure in heavy armor entered the room. He didn't even need to light the pillar fires for Aang to know who he was.

"And how is my favorite prisoner doing today?" General Zhao purred.

It took every inch of Aang's self-control not to say anything in reply. _Just let it pass_, Aang thought. _Just be patient and wait for this to be over._

Unaffected by the Avatar's silent treatment, Zhao entered the room, his heavy footsteps echoing against the metal confines of the cell. "You look well," Zhao continued, his voice an irritatingly low purr. Zhao was so _pleased_ with himself; Aang had never used the word 'hate,' before, but he couldn't think of any other when he thought about Zhao.

"Ah, where are my manners," the General laughed. "I shouldn't just _assume_ your state of being. Tell me yourself, Avatar, how _are_ you doing?"

Aang didn't move. Didn't blink. He just stared straight ahead and feigned deafness.

"A little hard of hearing these days, are we, Avatar?" Zhao asked, slinking closer to the chained bender. "Here, maybe this will help with that."

Before Aang could even prepare, a sharp jab connected his stomach. The airbender winced but let no sound escape his lips, even as his breath left his lungs.

Zhao laughed. "Look at you. The most powerful bender in the world, and yet, here you are. Powerless against me."

Aang closed his eyes slowly. He wouldn't give Zhao the satisfaction of warranting a reaction out of him. Zhao could say whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted, but Aang would not give in.

Besides, Aang knew something Zhao didn't. With every meal Zuko brought him, Aang grew stronger. He had had over a month's worth of decent meals, and enough time during Zuko's visits to stretch his handcuffed limbs. Aang could _airbend_ again. He hadn't tried, but he could feel it, he could feel the air energy pooling in his stomach. Aang smiled internally - when the time was right, he would _crush_ Zhao.

The General began to circle the room with slow, careful steps. Those footsteps echoed against the walls as he made his way around the airbender. "Well, I just came to update you on the progress of the war effort, Avatar. Although I suppose it's not much of a war effort anymore, since the war is won."

_Breathe in. Breathe out._ Aang tried to block everything out but the feeling of air entering and escaping his lungs.

"There are a few rebellions, made up of fools who think they can resist the forces of Phoenix King Ozai." Zhao's words were as slow as his footsteps, like black molasses dripping off of the broken hull of a navy ship. "We demolish them, of course."

Zhao came around full circle and stood in front of Aang, his hands crossed over the metal chest plates of his General's uniform. "However, there was one band of rebels that proved to be more difficult than the others," he mused, stroking his beard absent-mindedly with one hand. "Some Water Tribe peasants. Foolish savages on wooden boats who thought they could take on a Fire Navy fleet."

_Breathe in, and out. In, and out._

"But you know what was interesting about them, Avatar? They had a bison with them. A _flying_ bison."

The expression on Zhao's face was wicked, but the expression on Aang's was far, far worse.

"_Where is Appa?_"

Aang bellowed it in a voice so powerful, it vibrated the metal walls around them. For a fleeting moment, fear flashed in Zhao's eyes - but it was only for a moment.

"Oh, you're familiar with that beast?" Zhao asked, feigning surprise. "I had no idea."

Aang's nostrils flared and his breath came out of him so violently, breathing alone shook the shackles restraining him.

"That's a pity," Zhao cooed, "if I had known the two of you were acquainted, I would have brought the beast here to keep you company."

Aang's voice came out raw and seething between clenched teeth, "Where. Is. My. Bison."

Zhao made a clucking noise and placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. Aang jerked away from the touch, but Zhao only smiled. "I'm so sorry, Avatar," the General said with a false heaviness in his voice, "We put the beast down. We had to, you see. It was destroying the hulls of our ships."

Aang's roar followed Zhao out of the cell, down the hallway, and out of the massive tower to echo in every corner of the stronghold.

* * *

Zuko had heard a noise like that, once before. The howl that rocked Pohuai Stronghold might have sounded inhuman to some, but to Zuko, it was the exact opposite: it was the _very_ human sound of complete and utter anguish, the sound a human heart made when it was ripped into pieces. Zuko had heard that sound once, years ago during an Agni Kai. It was the sound his mouth had made as his father's fire burned his skin.

"Aang," he gasped.

Before he let himself have a chance to think, Zuko was up and running from the barracks he was in. He donned his helmet as he ran, securing the faceplate over his eyes just as a group of soldiers rounded the corner.

"Soldier," one of them - probably a low ranking officer yelled, "where are you going?"

Zuko didn't answer him. He had no time to deal with stupid, inept soldiers - he had to get Aang. Without slowing down, Zuko skidded around a corner and into another hallway.

"_Soldier!_"

A metallic screech sounded as Zuko's boots lost traction, but it took the firebender only a moment to recover before he was back to speed, leaving the screaming officer far behind.

Zuko calculated it in his head: eight stories to climb with eight pairs of guards on duty in the tower. Zuko guessed it was around 11 at night, which meant Pair One of sentries would be making their rounds somewhere near the armory on the first floor - if Zuko took the long way around to the stairs, he should miss them.

He weaved his way in and out of rooms and corridors; it didn't take him long before he reached the first flight of stairs and breached them. 11:07, he ventured, which meant Pair Two of sentries would be rounding the corner right about… now. Zuko caught a glimpse of a Fire Nation boot before he ducked into an empty storage closet.

Willing himself to calm down, Zuko waited in the dark closet until the two guards passed him and rounded the corner to the north wing of the second floor. That gave Zuko exactly two and a half minutes to make it to the third floor before Pair Three showed up.

With ease, Zuko made it to the third floor, then the fourth floor, then the fifth floor, avoiding all the sentries posted there. He almost gloated over his victory, but on the sixth floor, his luck ran out. Just as Zuko began the mad dash to the sixth staircase, a group of low-ranking commanders rounded the corner into the hallway Zuko was in. The former prince barely scrambled up the walls in time. With his back pressed against the ceiling, the officers passed below him, unsuspecting.

Now Zuko _knew_ something was wrong. There was no reason for those glorified grunts to be here, unless…

With a barely audible _plink!_, Zuko dropped back down to the floor. He had to be more careful. No more brash charging through the tower. If Zuko was caught, that would be the end of him - and Zuko couldn't do that to Aang. Zuko refused to abandon the airbender by getting caught, especially not when something had made the Avatar yell out in such pain.

Zuko took the next floor more cautiously. At even the slightest sound, he darted into shadows, around corners, hiding behind anything available to him. When footsteps approached, Zuko ducked into an empty room and held his breath.

"…Phoenix King Ozai seems to be forgetting what a threat the Avatar poses. I fear our King has let his power make him careless. Ozai forgets how dangerous the Avatar is. He forgets what a tremendous feat it was that I captured him."

"So what are you proposing, Zhao?"

"Why, nothing. But the Avatar can airbend again, I'm sure of it."

"_What?_ How do you know? How can you tell from just _talking_ to him?"

"You think a weakened bender could have trembled the very _air_ like that? You're a fool, Han."

"If… if the Avatar can bend again, then we need to take more precautions. We need to double the guards here - no, triple them! If he escapes with his strength returned, the Phoenix King will end us."

Zuko's eyes narrowed as the voices drew closer. He didn't dare peek around the corner, though - instead, he watched the shadows of the two generals pass by.

"_If_ the Avatar escapes," Zhao's voice drawled, "then it'll be a humble reminder for our Phoenix King that the Avatar is still very dangerous, and that my men and I are risking our lives everyday to make sure he remains locked up."

The other general in Zhao's company muttered something incomprehensible to the Fire Prince. Still holding his breath, Zuko listened as the footsteps and voices grow fainter and fainter, until nothing but silence could be heard down the corridor.

Zhao. Of _course_ it had been Zhao. Zuko exhaled a plume of smoke, furious. He couldn't imagine what Zhao had said or done to make Aang lose control of his bending - and a part of him didn't _want_ to know. He had to get to Aang's side, no matter what.

* * *

Fragmented memories played in Aang's mind, disjointed and confusing, as if they were memories of another lifetime. Aang remembered the Air Sisters, quiet women with shaved foreheads and long, brown hair, welcoming Aang and the other Air Acolytes when they'd arrived at the Eastern Air Temple. He remembered the baby sky bisons following their mother and only approaching the young acolytes with gentle encouragement from the sister-monks. He remembered sleeping curled up against Appa's warm, furry body.

A hiss of air. A groan of metal.

Aang didn't look up. Whoever entered didn't bother to light the pillar fires - instead they quickly shut the heavy metal door behind them, plunging the both of them into darkness.

"Aang," a voice said, breathless and scared and so, so relieved.

The airbender's ears pricked and his eyes opened. Aang had barely started on the 'z' sound of 'Zuko' before he felt lips kissing his mouth clumsily in the dark. Aang closed his eyes.

A small flame burst into being, held gingerly above one palm of the firebender's hand. "What happened?" Zuko asked, doing his best to mask the fear that threatened to shake his voice.

It felt like something was squeezing the air out of Aang's chest - his whole ribcage felt tight. The airbender shut his eyes again, but somehow, it was like the flame Zuko lit burned through the darkness to reach him. Unable to escape the light, Aang steeled himself against the truth. "Zhao killed Appa."

At first, Zuko didn't react. It seemed to take a while for the words to swim through the firebender's mind. Suddenly, Aang was hit by a wave of anger - he realized he didn't want Zuko to say anything. Nothing the firebender could say would help. Nothing Zuko could do would bring Appa back.

But Zuko offerend no words of consolation. Instead, Zuko's voice was a low growl, angry and determined. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"Zuko - what-?"

Instead of answering, Zuko made a '_ha'_ sound as he inhaled through his nose. He held the breath for a moment, then, with a '_ho'_ of escaping air, the firebender exhaled and clamped his right hand down on the chain that shackled Aang's right arm. The small fire Zuko had made to light the room extinguished as the firebender placed his free hand onto his right wrist, plunging the two benders into darkness.

"What are you doing?" Aang asked urgently, directing his question to the dark space where he knew the firebender was standing.

Zuko didn't reply. The darkness seemed to press in on them as the silence between them grew. Then, slowly, a faint red glow seemed to shine from the metal, outlining the shape of Zuko's right hand. Aang squinted, trying to focus on the dull glow. It was so tenuous, so faint, it was hard to tell the light from the darkness, as if maybe Aang was imagining the light - but then the glow got brighter. Now Aang was sure that there was _definitely_ an orange glow illuminating the firebender's hand, a glow that grew brighter and brighter and brighter with each passing second. Aang's eyes fixated on it it, unable to look away even as the light burned sharply into his retinas.

It took a moment for Aang to realize that it wasn't Zuko's _hand_ that was glowing, but the metal chains below it. The chains glowed from orange to red to white hot - and then, amazingly, impossibly, they began to melt.

"Wow," Aang breathed.

The chain melted in two, leaving only a few links attached to the shackle around Aang's wrist.

Zuko squatted down and moved on to the short chain binding Aang's right foot to the ground, repeating the breathing and motions required to melt through the steel.

_Wow_, Aang thought again. At first, all the airbender could think about was how amazing it was that Zuko could produce a heat hot enough to melt through inches of reinforced steel chains. But as he watched the firebender work, the implications of Zuko's firebending began to sink in. The word danced in Aang's mind like a shadow: _Escape_.

As Zuko focused on melting Aang's ankle chain, the airbender flexed his fingers and moved his free arm in an attempt to get the blood flowing through the limb again.

"How are we going to get past the guards?" Aang asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Zuko snapped as he concentrated. The short chain binding Aang's foot glowed white hot and then melted into a pool of liquid metal.

"Zhao's here," Aang said as Zuko moved to the airbender's other foot.

"I know." Zuko frowned. The white glow of burning metal cast harsh shadows that only deepened the firebender's scowl.

It seemed to take Zuko less and less time to burn through the chains. Within seconds, Aang's left leg was free, and the firebender moved on to the final chain that bound Aang's left arm.

Aang still had a thousand questions buzzing in his head, but he knew he had to trust Zuko. If Zuko thought that escape was possible now, then Aang had to go along with it. Aang couldn't afford to lose this opportunity. It was his only chance.

With one last sizzle of melting steel, the Avatar was liberated. Zuko hadn't removed the actual shackles themselves - it was probably to risky to use such intense heat near Aang's skin - but at least the chains were gone and Aang was _free_. Well, almost free.

"So, what's the plan?" the airbender whispered.

"The eastern exit is our best shot," Zuko replied. "It's the least guarded, so opposition should be lightest there. Are you sure you can airbend?"

Aang grinned. In one smooth movement, he leapt into the air, spun, and pumped his hands forward as a gust of wind followed. "Pretty sure."

Zuko nodded, and maybe Aang imagined it, but he could have sworn he saw the tiniest smile tug at the firebender's lips.

"Follow me," Zuko commanded, jerking his head towards the door.

The firebender led the way out of the cell and down the hallway. Under less pressing circumstances, Aang would have taken the moment to appreciate the change of scenery - after all, he had been looking at the same four walls for almost four years.

But there was no time to celebrate - they had more severe issues at hand. Silently, the two benders slinked their way down the empty corridor that led away from the Avatar's cell. Without warning, Zuko jerked to a stop and held a hand up to halt Aang's movements as well. Aang didn't see the reason for their pause until he saw a pair of sentries pass by the doorway they were hiding in. Aang held his breath until the soldiers were gone. When it was clear, Zuko motioned for Aang to follow him again.

"Your glider hangs in Zhao's trophy room on the floor below us," Zuko whispered as they paused at the entrance to the staircase.

Aang nodded, but didn't say anything - he didn't want to risk too many words, lest someone hear them.

Together, air and fire stole their way down the tower. Aang followed Zuko closely, never letting the firebender get more than three steps ahead of him. If Aang had been alone, he would have gotten lost in the maze of hallways and corridors that comprised the tower floors. Apparently, they had reached the trophy room, because Zuko stopped moving and pointed at an open door across of the one they were in. Aang nodded. _I understand._

Zuko rolled and Aang glided silently through the distance between the doorways - but they found the trophy room wasn't empty.

"Hey!" a Fire Nation soldier yelled, startled. The armored grunt stood up from behind the desk he'd been writing at, taking an offensive position and -

The soldier didn't get a chance to say anything else, because Zuko leapt up to smother his hands over the grunt's mouth as Aang kicked the soldier's feet out from under him. The soldier fell to the ground and Zuko was on top of him, cradling the soldier's chin and neck in his hands. There was a sharp sound of snapping bone as Zuko jerked the soldier's head - Aang shut his eyes and looked away.

Quickly, Zuko dragged the dead body behind the desk, so anyone looking into the trophy room wouldn't see it. Aang couldn't bear to watch. Killing was so against his nature, so against all the teachings of his people… but now was not the time or place to be picky about the firebender's methods of escape. So, after saying a quick prayer in his mind for the soldier's soul, Aang focused on trying to find his glider.

_There!_ Hanging on the far wall above an elaborate painting of General Zhao: an ancient artifact that looked like nothing more than an old wooden staff. With a gust of wind to propel him upwards, Aang leapt for the staff and snatched it from the hooks holding it.

Spirits, it felt good to have his staff in hand again. The weight of it was so familiar, so comforting - the airbender stood up with renewed strength. With his staff firmly in hand, Aang mouthed, _Let's go._

Zuko nodded and began running, the firebender's body so low to the ground that it was practically bent in two. Aang followed closely behind, and the prince led them to a hallway that ended in a wide window.

"Grab on," Aang shouted, flipping the wings of his glider open with a steady shake of his hand. Aang began sprinting towards the window, completely unafraid of the sixty-foot drop below. Zuko crouched and waited for a chance to grab Aang's waist - and then there it was, Zuko leapt up and held on, and with a _swoosh_ of air, they were out. They were flying.

Aang would have laughed if he hadn't been afraid someone might hear him. He was _flying_. He had given up hope long ago that he'd ever fly again, but here he was, the wind blowing his face, currents of air swirling around him.

"There's the eastern gate," Zuko called from below Aang, loud enough to be heard over the whirling currents of air that flowed around them.

"Hang on," Aang answered, lifting his chin up and raising them higher into the night sky. There was only a few hundred feet between them and the imposingly tall wall of the eastern gate and the forest beyond - if they could just make it over, undetected…

A shrill alarm pierced through the night air.

"Shit!" Zuko hissed, his voice immediately followed by the high-pitched shriek of a fireball launched their way.

The flaming boulder missed Aang's glider by inches, filling the air with the smell of burning oil. _That was too close for comfort_, Aang thought to himself. They had to avoid those flaming fireballs unless they wanted to end up on the ground surrounded by a firebending army, so Aang traded speed for altitude; instead of trying to get higher, he tried to fly _faster_.

Another blazing fireball whizzed their way. Zuko raised his leg in a wide arc and kicked a jet of flames out from his foot, sending the burning boulder back the way it came.

"We won't last much longer," Zuko yelled.

As if to emphasize his point, jets of fire approached the pair from the wall of the eastern gate. Firebending soldiers had gathered on top of it to send blasts of orange fire hurdling their way.

"We're almost there," Aang yelled back. They were just feet away from the wall now - just feet away from the soldiers shooting fire at them. Aang grimaced. "We can make it!"

And they did - the glider sped by the soldiers as the firebenders launched attacks blazing after them. But they didn't make it for long - one of the firebender's attacks caught the tail end of the glider, and now the latter half of the ancient wooden artifact was engulfed in flames.

Zuko let go first. _No room for nostalgia_, Aang decided as he let go of his burning glider. The Avatar conjured up a bed of air to soften his twenty-foot fall while Zuko hit the ground at a roll.

Once the initial shock of the fall wore off, Aang joined Zuko in surveillance of their situation. There was a respectable amount of distance between the two benders and the eastern gate; they'd managed to put at least a good thirty feet between them and the soldiers. A warm feeling surged in the airbender's chest - they really were going to make it.

Aang ran first towards the forest ahead of them with Zuko lagging a few steps behind to deflect any bursts of fire aimed their way. The forest edge was so close now - Aang could smell it. He could smell the fallen pine needles and the grass and the drops of dew that formed during the night. They just needed to make it to the forest, and then they could lose the soldiers. Just a little further…

A wild rustling began in the brush ahead. The leaves of the foliage trembled violently, as if they had a mind of their own. Aang's feet screeched to a halt, followed by an angry grunt of Zuko's as the firebender slammed into him.

"Why are we stopping?" Zuko shouted as he created a swirling circle of flames to block the firebending attacks that flew upon them.

Aang quickly recovered his footing and motioned towards the forest edge, just in time to see the foilage turn into a field of Yu Yan archers, their arrows all ready and poised at Aang.

Zuko let out a snarl like a wild polar bear-dog as he pushed Aang behind him, plumes of smoke flaring out of the firebender's nostrils with each heaving breath he took.

"Well played, Avatar," a voice purred from the shadows of the forest.

Identical expressions of loathing crossed the benders' faces.

General Zhao manifested from the shadows of the Yu Yan Archer, a smirk splayed across his face. "And if it isn't the Traitor Prince," Zhao said, eyebrows raised. "Now that, I _am_ surprised about."

"Save it, Zhao," Zuko barked, sparks of fire erupting from the former prince's fingertips.

A cruel smile spread across the General's face. "Face it, _Prince_ Zuko." Zhao sneered the word. "You've _lost_. I have a hundred Yu Yan Archers in these woods - you really think you two can make it out of here alive?"

Aang's eyes scanned the tree line, and a stone sank in his stomach. Zhao wasn't bluffing. A hundred arrowheads glinted in the darkness, and all of them pointed at Aang.

"He's right, Zuko," Aang murmured, closing his eyes as the knowledge sunk in. "We've lost."

"_No!_"

Zuko roared the word and kicked his leg up in a long arch, conjuring a massive arc of fire that spread out from the firebender like a tidal wave. As the arc of fire spread out, the air filled with the whistles of arrows flying through the night sky. Many of them broke against the wall of fire, while others were deflected by Aang's quick airbending.

"Now, now, Prince Zuko," Zhao clucked, taking a step forward as flames ignited in both of the general's hands. "Training a Yu Yan archer doesn't come cheaply, you know. I can't have you burning up all of my investments."

Without warning, Zhao sent one of the flames hurtling towards them. Zuko growled and with a flying kick, he sent it back. The air filled with whistling again, but with a swirling orb of air, Aang blocked most of the arrows. Most of them.

Zuko landed and prepared to block an attack that didn't come.

"Hold your fire!" Zhao bellowed. "Someone kill the traitor, and for Agni's sake, get a healer here _immediately_!"

The words made no sense to Zuko. Why was Zhao calling for a ceasefire and a _healer_? Well, it didn't matter - with Zhao distracted, Zuko took the opportunity to fire a quick shot. The prince sent a blaze of fire charging towards the General; a Yu Yan archer barely pushed the commanding officer out of the way in time.

Rage and confusion flooded Zuko's body. _What the _hell_ could be more important than avoiding death?_ The former prince's eyes followed Zhao's gaze, across the line of Yu Yan Archers, across the grassy distance that divided the two firebenders, across even the prince's own chest, to the boy at his side -

Zuko's eyes widened until his pupils were nothing more than pinpoints in a stormy sea of gold.

The fletchings of an arrow sticking out from the Avatar's chest. A crimson stain spreading across tattered yellow robes. A wry smile on a young man's face. _So this is death_, it said.

"No," Zuko whispered.

Somewhere in the distance, someone screamed for a healer.

Zuko leapt forward to catch the airbender's fall. Aang's weight landed softly in his arms, warm and solid and light. Zuko curled his body around the airbender's, shielding him from the arrowheads that shrieked their way.

_No._ Unable to feel anything but the weight of the other boy in his arms, Zuko didn't notice the tears streaming from his terrified eyes, or the arrowheads that bit at his skin as they flew past. "_No!_"

"Get away from the Avatar!" Zhao snarled, approaching Zuko with a man dressed in healer's clothes. Zuko flashed them a furious glare, the burning look of a wounded beast. And in that instant, Zuko realized the only reason he was still alive was that Zhao couldn't afford attacking Zuko without risking more injury to Aang, but the thought seemed far away. Unimportant.

Aang smiled up at Zuko, brushing the firebender's tears away. "Zuko…"

Zuko's eyes snapped back to the airbender, and all the rage and pain flooded out of them, replaced by terror. "I have to let them heal you," Zuko choked, his fingernails pressing into the blue arrows of Aang's skin. "They'll take you captive again, but you'll live, and then I'll find you again."

"They'll kill you," Aang murmured. The bright red stain on the airbender's chest kept growing, spreading its tendrils like a flower blossoming.

"But they won't kill _you_," Zuko countered. With shaky fingers, he grabbed Aang's hand and held the blue arrow against his tear-streaked cheek. "You have to live."

"I need to die."

"I won't let you!" Zuko screamed. Another arrow grazed his shoulder, jerking the firebender backwads. But even the sting of drawn blood couldn't keep Zuko away, and he was clutching Aang again, holding on to the airbender with all that he could.

Aang smiled again, but this time, his smile seemed tired. Like all the airbender wanted to do was close his eyes and go to sleep.

"You have to," Aang sighed at length. "You have to make sure they can't heal me. You have to make sure I can't be saved." With the last of his draining strength, Aang locked on Zuko's gaze, unwavering as he whispered, "Please, Zuko. _Please._"

The plea pierced through Zuko more painfully than any of the arrows that continued to shriek past his skin. The firebender could barely see past the tears that flooded his vision, but no amount of tears would have made him miss the desperation in the airbender's grey eyes. Those eyes were asking him, those eyes were _begging_ him, and finally, Zuko understood.

Oh, Aang was a horrible person. The airbender had been conniving from the very start. Plotting and planning and scheming_,_ and Zuko was such a fool, such an idiot. This had been Aang's plan all along.

After all, the Air Monks had said to abandon all hope. And ever the obedient student, Aang had obeyed.

"I love you," Zuko sobbed as the realization of what came next flooded through his veins like ice water.

Aang let out the quietest of breaths. "I know. I'm sorry. I love you, too."

Zuko pressed his forehead to the airbender's, pressing his skin against the blue arrow that marked Aang. "I love you. I love you. I love you." The sobs wrecked the prince's whole body, every inch of him trembling from the weight of those three simple words. "I love you. I love you."

Zuko's right hand curled into a fist, defiant, angry, furious with the spirits for all the wrongs they'd inflicted upon the prince: his father, his sister, his own foolishness, and now this. "I love you, I love you."

Aang smiled.

A swirl of red flames sprung from Zuko's knuckles, and slowly, Zuko brought his fist down. The flames danced between his body and the Avatar's, quickly igniting the airbender's ruined robes. Those robes, a reminder of a culture made extinct by fire. It was only fitting, then, that the last airbender die by fire as well.

"I love you," Zuko wailed, his voice rising above the sound of the fire roaring between their bodies. Zuko's fire consumed the Avatar, and there was nothing Zuko could do but chant those words so Aang would hear them until the end. "I love you. I love you."

And as quickly as he had lit them, Zuko killed the flames, cradling Aang's body to his chest.

Zhao roared like a child throwing a tantrum.

Zuko closed his eyes and pressed his lips to the Avatar's forehead, his tears running down his face onto Aang's too-hot skin. Zuko was such a fool. Aang was such a fool. They were both pathetic, foolish human beings.

Zhao reached Zuko at last and ripped the firebender from Aang's body. "Do you know what you've just done?" Zhao shrieked, shaking the former prince by the shoulders. "Do you know what you've just done?"

Zuko shut his eyes and breathed. What had he done? He had finally made up for his mistakes. He had done the only thing that _could_ be done for the Avatar, and maybe it had been enough to atone for his past sins.

Zuko hated Aang for doing this to him. Zuko loved Aang more than anything.

"Archers!" Zhao screamed, pushing Zuko away from him.

Zuko didn't flinch or open his eyes.

"Pin this traitor to the ground! I want him locked away for the rest of his life!"

Shrill whistles filled the air. Arrows buried their way into the edges of Zuko's armor. The arrowheads held the prince down against the wet grass as soldiers arrived to detain him.

Zuko didn't resist.

Somewhere, Zuko knew, in one of the hidden villages that their tribes had been reduced to, a waterbender was being born with a legacy that spanned thousands of years. Zuko knew this. Aang had known this.

The only thing Zuko could do now was wait and pray. For the rest of his life, Zuko would pray that his sacrifice - _their_ sacrifice - had been enough.

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**A/N:** Thank you for reading!

I was literally obsessed with finishing this story this past week I neglected almost everything to do so, and I'm really, really proud of it. So I would absolutely love any feedback from you, dear readers. This story just sort of wrote itself, which if any of you write, then you know what an absolute high that is.

In one of the nerdy sci-fi shows I watch, it mentions that when you go back in time and make changes to the established timeline, it has ripple effects: the closer you are to the source of the change, the more ripples there are, yet many things still happen the same way (Zuko coming to the good side, Aang's reaction to losing Appa, etc). Anyway, you may have realized there is one gigantic gaping plot hole in my story: why doesn't Aang just Avatar state it up and get out of dodge? Uh... well.. _your face_, that's why! No, seriously though, I have no excuse.

Ahh I could babble on forever about little things I put in the story that I really loved, but I'd better stop before this A/N turns longer than the story. Thank you again for reading. Please R&R!

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To read the original, non-edited sexually explicit version of Imprisoned, please visit my LiveJournal: hikuni.

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Thank you to everyone who has left me a review or added this story to your favorites! :) I'm so blown away by your wonderful responses.


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